There has been proposed a portable document format (PDF) developed by Adobe Systems to create PDF data, which has become publicly known as an electronic document. The PDF format is a format in which a structural description necessary for interpreting the structure of data to be printed is provided to the end of the electronic document. Accordingly, when interpreting a PDF file, the PDF file needs to be downloaded to the end so that the structural description may be referred to. In a case of using a PDF file in fields of variable data printing (VDP) and transaction printing, where an immense amount of records are processed, there may be conceivable a method of dividing the PDF file. According to the method, the divided PDF files are sequentially transferred to a printer, to thereby perform transmission of the file and outputting (printing) of the file in parallel with each other.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-348194 proposes an electronic document printing system. According to the system, PDF data to be printed is divided into multiple data blocks. The last data block is first transferred to the printer, and then the multiple data blocks are sequentially transferred from the head data block to a printer.
However, the conventional technology merely relates to a technology of dividing data into blocks. No consideration is given to dividing PDF data into print jobs, and hence a printer controller or a printer needs to receive the entire PDF data and expand the data onto a memory before performing processing which relates to print attribute such as imposition. Further, in a case where the print attribute is changed in the middle of the data yet to be divided, effective operation of a print engine has been difficult to attain. The print attribute refers to, for example, a predetermined printing unit of electronic document data and print settings for electronic document data.
Accordingly, the conventional technology is incapable of transmitting electronic document data to a printer by dividing the data adaptably to a printing system environment or a use case. As a result, transmission of the electronic document data to the printer and the outputting of the electronic document data in the printer may not be performed in parallel with each other, and hence the print processing in the printer may not be controlled efficiently.